An Impassioned Plea To Avoid Missing The Biggest Opportunity Of Your Life

Tuesday, 6:26pm
Reno, NV
“Don’t bunt.  Aim out of the ballpark.  Aim for the company of immortals.” (David Ogilvy, “Confessions of an Adman”)

This is important:

A while back, I posted something on this blog that hit a freakin’ nerve among the throngs of entrepreneurs, biz owners and rookies who hang out on this site.

Comments started flooding in…

… and, as usual, I interacted with folks.

I’ve just been told (by trusted inner-circle colleagues) that one of my replies in those comment threads…

… was perhaps the most vivid and impassioned point I’ve ever made about the raw seething power of honest kick-ass salesmanship to change lives.

So, I want to share that reply, here in a fresh post.

Let me set the scene for you: People were trying to make sense of the massive piles of hype still being disgorged by the Internet marketing community…

… and how all that hype soured good people on good opportunities.

“Hype”, and the dreadful sales pitches filled with it, really confuses people.  To the point where it’s now cool to talk about “selling without selling”.

It’s clear that many people now struggling to make a business successful…

… feel adrift in all the advice, information, and teasing opportunities swirling around the marketing community, both online and offline.

I know it’s frustrating.  I hear about this frustration all the time.

And here’s how I addressed this critical subject in that comment thread:

“Hi Stephen.You know what? The modern world is designed to bug us. None of our ancestors had to deal with virtual worlds, global anarchy, an economy based on blips in a database, or any of the other challenges to sanity this brave new adventure called Life In The 21st Century hath wrought. And within this turmoil and chaos is the “marketplace” we do business in. It’s noisy, distracting, and crammed with scams and opportunity in equal amounts. The truth about modern marketing ain’t pretty. Having the best product means squat. Being a genuine nice guy out to do the right thing won’t save you from bankruptcy. The marketing graveyard is full of fabulous products no one figured out how to sell. Selling is the language of the marketplace. Sure, there’s so damned MUCH of it going on, it’s annoying, it pisses us off, and our fight-or-flight urges kick in big time. However… one man’s hype… is another man’s essential information. You can want the world to come at you in short little bursts of exciting, entertaining bite-sized pieces of lusciousness… … but if you live your life that way, you’ll be perfect fodder for the worst scams. You can use the “what the heck, I’ll go with my gut” method of choosing what you buy… … and maybe you’ll survive just fine. Maybe get stuck with a bad car that doesn’t meet your needs, or was overpriced, or a lemon. You can survive that, probably. But you’d be a fool to apply that kind of decision-making to, say, getting married. You want to know as much about the other person as possible. Courtship is, essentially, a long sales letter. You’re getting pitched, and you’re processing the data on your own at the same time. The decisions you make for your business are (or should be) as carefully munched on as the other life-long choices you encounter. Hype is in the eye of the beholder. If you are offended by classic salesmanship — which presents a choice, and then lobbies for you to make that choice — then you need to find another way to make your business work. I’ll tell you that every day there are fresh businesses launched by good people who don’t believe they need to know how to sell in order to thrive… … and those businesses are shuttered and empty soon after. Business isn’t a popularity contest. If you have an ethical product that your prospect really should have (because it will make his life better, or fix a dire problem he has)… … then SHAME on you if you ignore the proven ways to get his attention… and fail to sell him on it just because you’re uncomfortable with the sales process. You do NOT have to be obnoxious in order to sell. You don’t have to be anything other than who you are, in fact. You just need to understand the emotional, psychological and behavioral mechanism your prospect has to endure in order to agree to buy what you have. Some of the smoothest salesmen alive can close the deal without a bit of perceived hype. They’re still using classic salesmanship tactics, however. They understand the needs of the prospect, and they understand the sometimes irrational process required in order to close the deal. Scams will never go away. You must be hyper-aware as a consumer. The dangers of an open marketplace are with us forever. Nevertheless, the old maxim “the more you tell, the more you sell” will also never go away, either. If detailed information and legitimate urging to join up strikes you as “hype”, then maybe the opportunity in front of you isn’t something you should engage in. But I’ll tell you what: If this were the last train about to leave the station, and the conductor didn’t do all he could to make you clearly understand this fact… … and the train left without you… … you’d be in a world of hurt. And you’d be right to blame the conductor for not grabbing your attention and forcing you to understand just how critical the situation was. This upcoming Simple Writing System mentoring program very well might BE the last one we ever host. It starts September 29. There is not another one planned. I could whisper this fact. Or just ignore it. Or, I could do everything in my power to make you aware of this… so you aren’t left behind, ticked off that no one made it clear to you. When you don’t care about that train pulling away, the conductor is just yelling. It’s an annoyance, and you wish he’d shut up. However, when it’s your train, and you’re about to miss it, then you’re thankful he broke through your daydreaming. The SWS adventure is about to start. It will change lives, as the previous ones have. This is the real thing, crammed with real value and real skill sets that can fuel success and independence for the rest of your days. It’s a crazy time to be alive. Choose your resources and choose who you trust carefully. And when you discover genuine opportunities, jump on them. I know the lure of the Magic Button is powerful and hypnotic and hard to resist. Choices are seldom easy when the stakes are high. Do what you think is right.”

Okay…

That was my impassioned plea to anyone out there struggling to understand how important this choice before them really is.

If you’re still on the fence about joining this program…

… consider this:

Consideration #1. My biz partner Stan and I have many different (and lucrative) projects we’d love to pursue.

And while it’s pretty evident (from the flood of sign-ups the day we began accepting students) that this upcoming SWS mentoring program will be the best one we’ve ever hosted…

… we have zero current plans to host another one like this.  We take these over-sized, large programs one at a time.  There are no other programs on our schedule with this assembled faculty, or with all the extra resources and bonuses we’ve stuffed into this all-out program.

Can you even begin to imagine how tough it is to put together a faculty with such well-known, sought-after, notoriously-successful professionals?  The preparation, delivery and maintenance of this utterly unique program absolutely consumes my office while it’s active.

It requires dedication, intense focus, and vast quantities of time and energy to create this stunningly-effective learning environment for you.

We’re not an institution — we’re just professionals who’ve banded together to help change some lives.

The business world is getting very exciting, as I said.  Lots of opportunities to get busy with, lots of reasons not to commit to an intense, deeply interactive coaching program like this.

The single reason TO commit should be obvious: It is the one skill-set, above all others, with the power to fuel your success in everything you do from here on out.

Consideration #2. So… this really may be your last shot at getting this kind of pro-level SWS mentoring, one-on-one, personalized, intensely focused on you… in the big, rollicking full-faculty program format we’re hosting right now.

Consideration #3. And if this is the last large-sized program…

… we’re going to make it the best one yet…

… and we’re also going to end this short period of accepting students with a BANG.

Here’s what we’re doing: When you join us in this Simple Writing System at-home mentoring program (which begins September 29)…

… we will give you full-privileged access to video of the infamous Action Seminar we held in January…

… absolutely free.  This is an exclusive JUST for folks in this upcoming program.  Right now, in fact, this is the ONLY way to see this sought-after video.

The marketing community is still buzzing about that Action Seminar (more than a few months afterward).

And it’s easy to see why.  The entire focus of that event — as you’ll soon see — was on organizing your business plan…

… and implementing it as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Through a realistic, strategy-loaded action plan that fits you like a glove.

Basically… we gave attendees their first honest, no-B.S. glimpse of how top marketers actually get their act together.

And get busy achieving every goal on their list, while racking up the moolah and results.

This was a gold mine of proven, total-insider advice and info and specific tactics.

It was NOT about writing.

It was about having that breakthrough “a-HA!” realization on finally kicking your adventure in capitalism into high gear… the way the niche-dominating Big Dogs do.

There were two solid days of this stuff.  No “rush to the back of the room” pitching goofiness, either.

It was all run interactively — everything we discussed, broke down,  explained and shared came directly from attendee questions and concerns, based on real-world situations straight from the people in the room.

These were entrepreneurs, small biz owners, and rookies… in other words, people just like you.  Finally learning how to break through the chaos, and map out the clearest path to getting what they want.

Everything we taught them…

… is now available for you to feast on, too.

Privately.  And for free, when you join us in this SWS mentoring program.  (You can, if you prefer, wait for the official release of these videos, and pay the steep going rate out of pocket.  When released, the Action Seminar DVDs will be priced breathtakingly steep.)

There is very little time left to decide if you’re coming with us…

… or remaining where you are in your life.

There are, as I write this, spots available with the professional-writer teachers in this Dream Team faculty.  Who are itching to get started, going deep with each student one-on-one.

It’s a proven program — the 8th large-scale one we’ve hosted.  The only one of its kind out there.

You can see what people who have been through it have to say here:

www.SimpleWritingSystem.com

It is not expensive.

Hiring any one of the top writers in the faculty to write privately for you would cost you thousands of dollars more (up to tens of thousands more).

To get long-term access like this to so many professional writers — including me and the writers closest to me — would be out of the reach of even big-budget corporations.

And yet, in this expanded SWS program, you get focused, personal training and guidance from a professional writer/teacher…

… plus access to a mind-blowing resource center stocked with pure content, delivered by the most respected experts in the world…

… and all the motivation, excitement and fun that fuels these special programs.

We’ve set up a legitimate once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.

Perfect for entrepreneurs, biz owners and even rookies who realize it’s time to learn the most powerful (yet simple) system anywhere for creating killer sales messages.  Whenever you need them.  Under the careful guidance of a professional mentor.

As you will see, we’ve bent over backwards to make this amazing program within the reach of almost everyone.

There is a commitment.  You will need to follow through.

However, we’ve made it easy.

You’ve likely never been taken by the hand and guided like this before.  You’ll soon get used to accepting the personalized, pro-level help, though.  It’s fun, once you get moving.

This train is leaving the station soon.

Should you be on it?

Make your decision.  See what’s up, and please choose wisely.

Here’s that link again:

www.SimpleWritingSystem.com

If you join us, I’ll see you inside the program.  Where your amazing adventure in success and independence begins September 29…

Stay frosty,

John

Buzz And Awe, Part 2

Monday, 1:31 p.m.
Reno, NV
“Is there gas in the car? Yeah, there’s gas in the car…” (Steely Dan, “Kid Charlemagne”)

Howdy…

Some things are just important enough to go over several times.

Especially when FREE life-changing goodies are involved.

Here’s what’s up: Those of you in the loop know we’re launching the coaching program of the Simple Writing System again.

I’ve lost track of how many of these programs we’ve now hosted.  This is the eighth or ninth one — we’re calling it the Fall 2010 edition.

We only offer this hand-holding, personalized, one-on-one mentoring rarely.  The last one was all the way back in the Spring of last year.  (They’ve all filled quick, too.)

No idea when another one will come around… if it even does.

We take this one program at a time.

One of the main benefits of this unique coaching program… is also why we focus only on the session we’re producing now: It’s extremely interactive.

Which is perfect for anyone who knows that hands-on mentoring is the best way to learn.

This is the simplest possible system (crammed with short-cuts) for creating all the sales messages you need  for a profitable business…

… including all your ads, websites, video scripts, emails, AdWords, blogs and other social media broadsides…

… and everything else that pumps eager prospects into your Sales Funnel.

So you can close the heck out them.  And get prosperous and happy.

Most marketers wander through the wasteland of Bad Business Practices their entire career…Read more…

Full Tilt Boogie

Sunday, 9:08pm
Reno, NV
“Hit me.  Hit me again.  Again.  Arrrgh…” (Blackjack dude going down…)

Howdy.

One of the truly fun parts of being in business are the Life Lessons you get to learn.

Or, rather, you’re forced to learn (if you don’t want to spend your career blundering down the same blind alleys time after time).

Early on, I took notice of the various quirks people exhibited running a business… especially the entrepreneurs, who were unencumbered with the rule books that franchise owners and traditional corporations worked under.

Now, you’ll see startling examples of strangeness in any group of humans, doing anything, anywhere.  So the first lesson is probably to acknowledge that reality…

… and stop pretending we’re a race of logical, rational, functional beings going about the business of running a civilization efficiently and sanely.

We’re not.

And savvy, experienced biz veterans survive by learning to work within the limitations that come with dealing with other humans.

It’s actually one of the more fun parts of entering the biz world, once you get a handle on the basics of how spectacularly humans can screw something up.

Don’t get me wrong — I love people.  But I love them in spite of their near-consistent tendencies to botch things completely.  (I’m by no means above the fray).  (No one is.  Scratch the surface of the most “together” person you now, and you’ll find evidence of shocking weirdness.)

The reason little insights like these are so awesome, is that they can help you stay balanced… Read more…

Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, & Choosing The Right Weapon

Confessions Of A Story Junkie, Part One

The Quiz, Resolved. And Prize Awarded…

Tuesday, 4:06pm
San Francisco, CA
“I left my heart…” (Tony Bennett)

Howdy.

By the time you read this, I’ll be back home in Reno… a better man for having spent a week in San Francisco.

Even though it was all business, I still get invigorated just from hanging out in that city by the bay.  It’s one of the few things California did right (though they’re working hard at ruining it).  (Bastards.)

And while I was gone, the last blog post went freaking bonkers.  Nearly 200 comment posts (most of them well-thought-out and elegantly delivered, too).  (With the occasional funny disruptor, of course.  It wouldn’t be a good Quiz without a big healthy dose of irreverence.)

So, a big “thanks” once again to Robert Gibson (SWS veteran teacher and all-around good dude) for being ring-leader while I was off.

And congratulations to the winner.  Who we’ll announce here in a second.

First, though, let’s clarify what the answer is.

The question was: What’s the 4th big observation about money that changed my life so dramatically… that an avalanche of good stuff followed (including the phat opportunities to work with Gary Halbert)?Read more…

[Quiz] The Life-Changing Secret Behind “Operation Money$uck”

Wednesday, 8:40pm
Reno, NV
“Money, money, money, money, money, money…” (Cabaret)

Howdy…

Hope you enjoyed the last post, where I offered up 3 observations about moolah.

For this current post, I promised to reveal the 4th observation…

… which is so powerful, it can instantly change the way you move and get things done in the world.

However…

… I’ve just had a sudden urge to get all Socratic here, and ask readers to do some critical thinking before I reveal that 4th observation.

It’s too easy to just toss the really hot wisdom in your lap… and the retention level when you don’t have to think about it first is abysmally low.  I do you a grave disservice by not using the most powerful teaching methods available when I’m sharing the good stuff…

… and the Socratic method — which ignites critical thinking skills by asking questions (and never, ever just gives anything away) — is a proven way to juice up the ol’ brain cells, while being able to see what other folks come up with from their perspective.

In fact, let’s make it a real Quiz.

The first person to chime into the comments section here with the answer I’m looking for… Read more…

Money, money, money, money…

Sunday, 4:24pm
Reno, NV
“… keep your hands offa my stash…” (Pink Floyd)

Howdy…

Let’s talk about money.

Do you have enough?

Do you know how much “enough” is, for you?

Most folks are pretty clueless about moolah.  They desire it, they fear it, they respect and hate and love it… and they assign all kinds of magical powers to it.

So here are a couple of observations… from a dude who’s been broke, been rich, and seen the awesome potential as well as the destructive nightmares that money can wield:

Big Damn Observation #1: Money really can’t buy you happiness.

But you know what?  It’s still more fun to find this out for yourself, rather than take someone’s word for it.

For me, it was well worth keeping this nugget of wisdom on a note tacked to my office wall.  Because happiness was definitely on my wish list of life-long goals… but so was success.

So I kept track as I moved up the socio-economic ladder from slacker, to decently-paid freelance writer, to obscenely-paid “A List” professional.

And guess what?Read more…

Congratulations, And Now Stop Being A Wuss

Monday, 7:55pm
Reno, NV
“But it’s all right… in fact it’s a gas…” (The Stones, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash“)

Howdy…

Nobody’s ever asked me to give the commencement speech for a graduating class.

That’s probably a good thing.  I’m pretty pissed off at the education system these days, and I might cause a small riot with the rant I’d surely deliver.

See, I have a university “education”.  A BA in psychology.  (The BA stands for, I believe, “bullshit amassed”.)  I earned it several decades ago…

… and while I had a good time in college (height of the sex revolution, you know, with a soundtrack that is now called “classic rock”), made some lifelong friends, and got a good look at higher learning from the inside…

… that degree provided zilch preparation for the real world.  Didn’t beef me up for any job, didn’t give me insight to how things worked, didn’t do squat for me as an adult.

I waltzed off-campus and straight into the teeth of the worst recession since the Depression (Nixon’s post-Vietnam wage-freeze, record unemployment, gas-lines, near-total economic turmoil)…

… so, hey, I should have a little empathy for today’s grads, right?

Naw.Read more…

Takin' It Too Far…

Thursday, 11:49pm
Reno, NV
“Qu’est-ce que c’est?” (Talking Heads,”Psycho Killer”, ca. 1979)

Howdy.

Quick lesson today, which should help you understand one of the fundamental truths of kick-ass marketing.

That truth: There is almost always a way to fix or solve a marketing problem.

Actually, that truth is also functional in every-day life…

… but that’s a much longer lesson.

Here’s the quickie version, for marketers: I was just delivering this story in one of the Simple Writing System classrooms, and thought I’d share with you here, too.

As any decent marketer knows, the Prime Directive of a sales process is to discover your best possible prospect… and “reach” him with your sales message.

Seems simple enough.  Sometimes, it is.  If you’re selling hamburgers near a starving crowd, you’re set. Just open your doors and tell folks to line up.

For a while (back in the Good Old Days of Internet marketing), all you had to do was:

Step One: Be the first into a hot niche…Read more…